jennybug35 said:
We also have a wild life conservation behind our home. We do not screen in pools here so I'm a tad concerned about the rattle snakes that might take interest in our decking on cool nights.
We're surrounded by 100s acres of protected habitat too. When the State Park lake was filling we had GIANT rattlesnakes all around our property as their habitat was being encroached upon by water but several years after the lake filled the numbers started reducing significantly. We also have Texas Corals and we have one in the freezer that is 40".
I occasionally find newborns or juveniles, but rarely adults, in the skimmer in the mornings. Copperheads are our biggest problem. They could care less if I approach them and will literally crawl across the deck in afternoons, and right under the chair I'm sitting on. After we let the pool become a frog pond in 07-08 our copperhead population exploded. This summer we were catching several a week, at dusk and later within 10 ft of our house.
We keep the pool area well lighted with low voltage lighting, all night, with supplemental floods when needed. Also have lighting around the walls and lighted under any benches, tables, chairs, and gas grill (that resides up against a wall).
ALSO, we have a rule for spring, summer, fall, that everyone has to carry a flashlight, from dusk to dawn, when venturing beyond the decking, going to the sheds, or going to cars, etc., no exceptions. Our copperheads climb vines. (I have some great pics of snakes at our windows taken from inside.) We always check the pool before using especially at night and in the a.m. We even check the covered spa and all around it, located on the Trex deck, with high intensity flashlights, before getting in even though we have motion sensing lights attached all around the spa enclosure. The copperheads, frequently, like to enter the house during early evening so we have to be careful around doors going in and out. We, also, keep a 4 ft snake catcher handy and a big plastic dedicated trash barrel to put them in, once caught. DH does two snake runs a night, at dusk and around 10-12 p.m. He averages one snake every day and a half, but has, on occasion caught as many as four in one night.
You never, ever, ever, reach into any place without thoroughly probing the area, day or night, and visually inspecting.
Become familiar with the snakes in your area. You want the good snakes that eat warm and cold blooded pests, including poisonous snakes. We have loads of nonvenomous snakes but many of them have pretty nasty temperaments and will bite, although your only concern with those bites is infection.
We've tried virtually all "products" to keep snakes away from certain areas but none are very affective. One of the granular products has tested well with rattlesnakes but has no effect on most others, especially the copperheads. There is a sonic device that you put in the ground that is supposed to work but I haven't tried it yet as I was afraid it would drive our indoors pet King Snake crazy. He has such a passive temperament, except when in feeding mode, so I don't want to make him crazy. BTW... we don't feed him live food, rather frozen from the pet store. (Need to do some more research to see if that device will affect indoors pet snakes.)
When our dogs are older they do less exploring at night but our three new puppies got copperhead bites this summer so we had to keep them up from dusk to morning, going out to the enclose courtyard only to potty. They are immunized for rattlesnake bites but have only gotten copperhead bites.
Teach your children well about the hazards and to follow all safety precautions, always.Protect your pets. Copperhead bites are rarely fatal. Rattlesnake bites more so. (As far as my Vet knows they haven't approved the rattlesnake immunization for humans. It doesn't make the animals "immune" to the venom but helps to reduce the complications from venom.) Coral bites too but people usually only get bites from them handling them.
I can see the importance of pool cages. Mosquitoes can be pretty easily dealt with but critters are another thing.
How do critters get in to enclosures? Can't they be sealed well enough to keep them out?
gg=alice
Congratulations. Great to combine with neighbor too.
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